


A Well-Deserved Vacation

by assembledorotherwise



Category: Blue Bloods (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-21 11:20:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11943078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assembledorotherwise/pseuds/assembledorotherwise
Summary: After a month of working crazy hours, Jamie is ready for a vacation. Unfortunately, he can't decide where to go, so he asks Eddie, and somehow manages to get dragged along to the wedding of one of her childhood friends in Los Angeles. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. The Really Long Month

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys! My favorite YouTuber (Ariel of The REL Show) says that traveling and getting out of your element a bit is one of the best ways to jump-start your inspiration, and if an Ohio farm girl riding shotgun while her mom drives 80 through the LA Freeways isn't "getting out of your element," then I don't know what is. I've had this up on FanFiction for a while, but just got an AO3 account, and am currently in the process of adding all my stuff from there onto here. I'll put up all the chapters I have so far, and will update accordingly as I write new ones.

Jamie drove along the streets of New York in the patrol car, Eddie riding shotgun. That morning the pair had just received news that they would be going an entire month with only three days off, all of which were Sundays, and at the end of this time, would get an entire week off. Jamie had accepted this work sentence quietly, while Eddie on the other hand, had been complaining about it since the second she had gotten in the car.

"This is  _so_ not fair.  _Three days off_  in a  _month_?" she whined. "Couldn't you call your dad or something? Pull some strings?"

When Eddie got fired up about something trivial like this, Jamie usually sat back and listened until she burned herself out, but she had been going strong for fifteen minutes, and it was starting to grate on his nerves. "Okay, no offense Eddie, but you're acting like an eight-year-old right now," he said. "I get that you really don't want to do this, and―hey!―neither do I, but it's what we have to do. So we might as well spend this time doing our job, instead of complaining about it."

Eddie knew he was right, and mentally reprimanded herself for acting so childish about it. "At least we get a whole week off at the end of this whole ordeal," she said, being as optimistic as possible.

Jamie's annoyance melted away into a smile. "That's the spirit," he said, glad he had gotten through to her.

"But seriously," Eddie continued, "we are going to need that whole week to just recover."

"Yeah, I definitely agree with that," Jamie replied.

"Any idea where you want to go?" she asked.

"Nope. You?"

"Actually, yeah. A girl I grew up with, Cara called me last night to say that that she's getting married, and the date falls on the second-to-last day we're off, so I'm going to be going to LA."

Jamie raised his eyebrows. "Wow. That sounds like fun."

"Yeah. Fun until Cara and her family find out I'm still single," she said with an eye roll.

"Oh. One of those families." Jamie felt Eddie's pain. The Reagans could be just like that, too, and he had been subjected to their prodding for what felt like an eternity.

Eddie took a deep breath. "Okay, Jamie, this is going to sound super weird, but would you even entertain the idea of going to Cara's wedding with me?"

Jamie gave her a slightly quizzical look.  _What is she trying to say here?_

Eddie picked up on his apprehension and quickly corrected herself. "As friends, of course," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jamie nodded absently. "Of course..."

They sat in slightly awkward silence, and just as Eddie was about to ask for an answer, Jamie gave his response. "Sure, I'll go. I've never been to California before."

Eddie couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "You'll have a great time."

* * *

It had been a long, but not very eventful day, and after tour, Jamie headed over to Eddie's house to take care of plane tickets and all the other things that needed to be taken care of in advance. They got very lucky in finding a direct flight from JFK to LAX with two seats together. After taking a few moments to celebrate their airline success, they reserved a rental car and two hotel rooms, all of which Eddie paid for, and Jamie wrote her a check for half the balance.

"See you tomorrow," Eddie said with a smile as Jamie prepared to leave.

"You too."

* * *

_The next Sunday, Jamie's first day off of the month…_

"You're doing  _what_?" Erin asked, mouth agape in shock.

Jamie was trying to hold his own against an entire dinner table of Reagans who had just heard about his vacation plans, which was no easy feat.

Dannie gave him a superior grin. "I always knew you were into that partner of yours."

"It's not like that―" Jamie tried to explain, wishing more and more with every passing second he would have just went to California and not told anyone about it.

"Sure, Uncle Jamie," Nicky interrupted with a patronizing smile.

Finally, Frank broke through the cacophony of voices. "You know how this is going to look to the department, don't you?" he asked with a pointed look at Jamie.

Jamie sighed. "Yes, and to be honest, I really don't care. We're just friends, like all partners. Why is it that I get thrown into this every time we do something together, just because she's female and I'm single?"

Frank pursed his lips. "But this is flying all the way across the country and spending a week together, not just going to a bar after tour."

Jamie stood his ground, but was beginning to get very annoyed with his family. "We have separate hotel rooms and everything. I don't even know why we have to be  _having_  this conversation right now."

Frank continued. "If something were to happen―"

"If something were to happen, we would go to the Sargent and get reassigned partners. End of story." Jamie stuffed a piece of chicken into his mouth to reiterate that he was done talking about it.

Henry came to his rescue by quickly changing the subject, and the Reagans left Jamie alone for the rest of dinner.

* * *

_The night before leaving for California…_

Eddie called Jamie to ensure they were both aware of all the details surrounding their flight the next day.

"Alright," Eddie said, "our plane leaves from JFK at 10:15 am, meaning we should be there by around―"

Jamie interrupted her, already knowing the drill on airline travel. "8:15."

"Right. I printed off the boarding passes, so I'll have yours for you when we meet up at the airport." They had both planned to take a taxi from their respective houses to the airport, where they would go through baggage check and security together.

"Okay. Sounds like a plan," Jamie said, finalizing their plans for the next morning.

The pair said their goodbyes, and went to get some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember to comment! Your reviews are what motivate me to write new chapters and get them posted. I think most of the bugs in this chapter are worked out, but if you catch anything else, or if there is something you really don't like, don't be afraid to speak up! I love creative criticism because it gives me an objective view of my writing that helps me make it better.


	2. The Airport and What Happened There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back with the second chapter. I did already have this chapter written, but after I got it done, I decided I didn't like it and rewrote almost the whole thing so it didn't revolve around a band most of you have probably never listened to. The new chapter just flowed right out of me and I love it way more than the first draft. Just a note: if you've never been in an airport, there's all these stores alongside the terminals so people can blow their money on all manner of stuff. That's kind of important to this chapter, and is kind of a weird concept to someone who's never seen it. I just thought of that because I flew for the first time when I was seven, so it's kind of foreign to me that there are quite a few people in the world who have never flown. Enjoy!

When Eddie reached the airport, she practically had to drag herself from the taxi. She had slept practically the entire two hours it had taken to get to the airport to compensate for not sleeping at all the night before. She had checked and rechecked her packing multiple times, and had thought to death how to respond to every jab she and Jamie would have to endure while around Cara Bradley's family. They considered themselves bonafide matchmakers, and knowing Jamie as well as she did, Eddie was fairly sure it would be a bit overwhelming.

"Hey," she said to Jamie, who she was relived to find had made it to the airport first, and was waiting for her. He handed Eddie her boarding pass, and she followed him into the terminal, wishing she could just teleport them to Los Angeles and just skip this whole "airport" business.

They went through baggage check, Jamie doing most of the work, and after making it through the line, they headed toward security, which they passed through without a hitch. After Security, Eddie trudged alongside Jamie to the terminal. Once they found which one they would be departing from, Eddie flopped onto one of the rather uncomfortable chairs, sighing heavily.

Jamie finally began getting a little worried about how she was acting. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Eddie shook her head. "I barely slept at all last night."

Jamie nodded his head understandingly. "Well, our plane ride is going to be about six hours, so you should have plenty of time to sleep then."

Eddie tried at a smile, failing miserably. "Don't count on it. I can't sleep on planes."

Jamie didn't have a response to that, so he didn't try. Jamie pulled out a book, Eddie plugged her earbuds into her phone and put on some music, resisting the urge to groan loudly. The pair sat in silence for a while, until finally Jamie finally stuck his bookmark in his book and turned to look at Eddie, who had been staring off into the distance. Finally noticing him looking at her, she turned to face him. "What?" she asked, a little annoyed.

"That book is not as good as it sounded," he said seriously.

Despite her acute sleep deprivation, Eddie laughed. "Typical Jamie."

He gave her a sheepish smile.

She raised an eyebrow at him, feeling that he had more to say.

He sighed. "Would you, uh, like some coffee?"

Eddie smiled brightly. "Why, yes I would, Officer Reagan." Her smile diminished ever so slightly. "Although I feel like you have a bit of an ulterior motive."

He blushed ever so slightly. "I―uh―want to go to the airport bookstore and buy another book, and when we walked past it, I saw there was a coffee place between there and here, so..." he drifted off.

"Okay, I get it. Come on." She grabbed her purse and he shouldered the backpack he was taking with him on the plane, following her.

When they got to the coffee shop, the pair got in line and decided what they wanted to order. When they received their orders, Jamie insisted on paying for Eddie's which she thought was quite sweet, though decided to even the score by paying for his book.

The caffeine Eddie consumed was doing wonders for her energy levels. If not at one hundred percent, she at least felt as if she had slept more than the two hours it took to drive to the airport. When Jamie saw the store containing a wall of books and magazines, he made a beeline for it, leaving Eddie at the entrance with the dorky "I heart New York" stuff that was in every airport, varying only by the city name branded on them. She walked slowly toward the back of the shop, where Jamie was examining the shelves stocked with newly published books. He was examining the back cover of a sci-fi novel, something Eddie would have never expected him to read.

She came up behind him. "Interesting choice."

He jumped slightly, startled out of his reverie by Eddie's voice. "Yeah," he said, turning around to face her. "I think I'll get this one."

"Great," Eddie said with a smile. "I think I'll get something to read as well. Six hours is a pretty long flight." Coffee cup still in hand, she walked slowly towards the magazine section of shelves, selecting one with a cover story about a TV show she liked to watch, and heading toward the checkout, Jamie right behind her. Once at the checkout counter, Eddie caught Jamie unawares by grabbing the book out of his hand.

"Wha―?" he started

Eddie smiled sweetly. "You bought the coffee, I'm buying the book."

Jamie looked as if he was going to protest further, but decided against it. Eddie paid for the book and the magazine, handing it back to Jamie after they exited the shop, and headed back to their terminal. When they sat back down, Jamie asked, "Are you seriously not finished with that coffee yet? I finished mine ages ago."

Eddie glance down at the empty cup in her hand. "I guess I finished it and never threw the cup away." Suddenly, Eddie was overcome with an unpleasant yet familiar feel. "I am starving!"

Jamie was a little taken aback by this revelation, but not entirely surprised, as he recalled a time when Eddie had ordered two cheeseburgers, and then threatened to eat his on top of that. "Okay," he said, making the wise decision that a hungry Eddie was not something to disagree with. So, they picked up their respective bags, and headed off to one of the restaurants in the airport.

When they got there, Jamie didn't order anything, as it was only about 9:30 in the morning, and he usually didn't eat too much between meals, but Eddie on the other hand, ate five meals a day if she could. She ordered a pulled pork sandwich, which she devoured in record time, while Jamie simply sat and took in the spectacle. "I really don't know how you eat that much. I would get sick if I did it for even a day."

Eddie smiled in mock sympathy. "You poor thing. Just stick with your salads and everything will be okay."

"Hey! You can insult my eating habits, but  _never_  insult my salads," he said seriously. They both cracked up.

"Come on, funny boy, let's get back to the terminal," Eddie said, picking up her trash and disposing of it.

When they sat back down, Eddie began to feel her caffeine buzz beginning to wear off. Before she knew it, she began to drift off…

"Eddie!" She was woken by Jamie's voice. "We're boarding," he explained once he saw she was awake.

Eddie groaned, peeling herself from the chair. She picked up her purse and followed Jamie into the boarding line. Jamie turned to her. "I guess you weren't kidding about not getting any sleep last night."

"Nope." Eddie wasn't really in the mood to talk. All she could think about was the long six hours ahead of her. She had never been able to sleep on planes because even the slightest turbulence would wake her up. It was more psychological than anything, she figured. But nonetheless, sleeping was for solid ground.

When they reached the ticket agent in line, their boarding passes were scanned, and they headed through the hallway to their awaiting plane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Chapter two down! I hope you all enjoyed. I guess this fic is going to be longer than I originally anticipated, as I'm hoping to spend the next whole chapter on the plane ride. (It is actually six hours from JFK to LAX, I looked it up) and Eddie won't be able to sleep the entire time… I wonder what's going to happen. :P
> 
> Also, I would love it if you dropped me a review telling me what you liked or what you didn't, or if I made any grammatical or storyline errors. It helps me make the story more enjoyable for everyone.


	3. The Plane Ride

Eddie settled into the middle seat beside Jamie, who was in the plane's window seat. Honestly, it was a miracle they had managed to get two seats together on such short notice. She set her purse on the floor in front of her, per the stewardess' s instruction, buckled in, and tuned out the plane safety feature spiel that was given before every takeoff. The man to her right, in the aisle seat wasn't even pretending to listen; he had a pair of headphones on, which Eddie thought was a bit rude, but at the same time understandable. He had probably heard it a million times.

The plane taxied down the runway before taking off, and Eddie could feel the pressure in her ears as the plane gained altitude. She pulled her phone out of her purse and checked the time.

_10:20_

It was going to be a very long plane ride.

Somehow, Jamie had managed to fall asleep almost immediately after takeoff, book unopened in his hand.  _Must be a Reagan gene, being able to fall asleep anywhere_ , she thought bitterly. She picked up the magazine she had purchased and opened it up, finding an article to read, which she barely comprehended, simply moving her eyes across the paper to kill time. When she finished "reading," she picked her phone up again.

_10:32_

Twelve minutes into the flight and she was already bored to tears.

Eddie unlocked her phone and wasted some more time playing a dumb game. She wished Jamie was awake so they could talk, but didn't want to wake him. She picked her purse up off the floor of the plane and went through all the pockets, organizing their contents. Doing this task almost scared her, as she usually hated cleaning things.  _At least I'm doing something productive_ , she thought.

Glancing to her left, she saw Jamie's sleeping profile against a background of blue sky from the window. Eddie couldn't help but realize how peaceful he looked when he slept. This thought floated around her mind for a moment before she was hit with an unwelcome wave of insecurity. She had been asleep in that chair for at least a half hour, and surely Jamie had looked at her at least once.

Eddie shook her head, pushing that thought to the outer edges of her mind. Why did she care what Jamie thought, anyway? He had certainly seen her in less dignifying situations while they were on duty. Eddie sighed. If she was trying to make herself feel better, it was certainly backfiring. Now she was subconsciously flipping through every day in her mind, trying to pinpoint anything that could've embarrassed her.

 _Okay, Eddie, just_ stop it _. Think about something else._  Surprisingly, this tactic worked, and Eddie started worrying about all the things that could possibly go wrong at Cara's wedding. By the time she ran out of ideas, the list would have stretched from one end of the plane to the other.

She checked the time on her phone again.

_10:47_

Finally succumbing to her desire to have someone to talk to, she poked Jamie in the shoulder. He opened his eyes just enough to glare at her. "What was that for?" he asked, looking more than a little annoyed.

Eddie gave a melodramatic sigh. "This is really, really boring, and I would like someone to talk to." She gave him a slightly mocking smile.

Jamie situated himself into a position more suitable for sustaining a conversation, and turned to Eddie. "So, what do you want to talk about that was so important that you had to wake me up after―he quickly checked the time―twenty-five minutes?"

Eddie didn't know what to say to that, so she asked him the question that had been on her mind since this trip had been planned. "What did your family think of you doing this?"

"They thought it was the worst idea ever," he replied nonchalantly.

Eddie rested her head in her hands. "Jamie, I am so sorry―"

"Don't be," he cut in. "It's totally fine. Danny and Nicky are still totally convinced I'm into you, but beyond that..." Jamie drifted off, suddenly realizing what he had just said.

Eddie saw the awkward moment coming, and make a quick save by laughing. "Of course. Those two are almost as bad as Cara's parents."

Jamie's eyes widened. Eddie wanted to bang her head against something hard.

Jamie swallowed. "Okay..." he said slowly.

Eddie checked and double-checked what she was going to say before she said it. "Sorry. I kind of forgot to mention that."

Jamie had visibly relaxed. "It's okay." Off Eddie's look, he elaborated. "Really. It is. I get it all the time from my family, and Danny just likes to make sure I feel the burn he got about this before he met Linda."

Eddie nodded, feeling as if perhaps she would need more help dealing with the Bradleys than Jamie would.

"So," Jamie said, bringing Eddie's attention back to him. "have you decide what we're going to do the rest of the time we're there, or is it all just going to wedding setup?"

"I actually haven't thought about that too much. I definitely want to do some shopping though."

"There is one place I would really like to go," Jamie said.

"And that would be?"

"The Ronald Reagan Library. It's pretty close to Los Angeles, and I've been wanting to go there for quite a while now."

"Sure. We have four whole days to go wherever we want, and that sounds like a cool place to go." As an afterthought, she added, "Are you guys actually related to him?"

"You'd be surprised how often I get asked that. And actually, yes, but very distantly."

"Cool. If I think of any other places, I'll let you know."

"Okay. I think I'm going to read some more of that book I got, since if I go back to sleep, I'll just get woken up by you." Jamie gave her a look.

"Well, hope you enjoy it," Eddie said, pretending to ignore his friendly jab.

Eddie picked her magazine back up and properly read the article she had scanned before, realizing that she had missed out on a lot. She glanced over at Jamie, who was deeply engrossed in her book, before flipping to another page in the magazine and reading it.

* * *

After a while, Eddie had read the magazine from cover to cover, and when she looked over, Jamie had fallen asleep again, despite himself. A small smile graced her face as she looked at his sleeping figure, all her former apprehension gone.  _He doesn't look like a cop when he sleeps_ , she thought.  _I don't think any of us do._

Jamie slept the entire rest of the plane ride, and Eddie didn't wake him up. Every once in a while, she would sneak a glance in his direction, as if she would wake him by looking too hard.

_1:24, Los Angeles time_

By the time they touched down in LAX, she was so exhausted she thought she might collapse, but somehow managed to survive. She trudged alongside Jamie to the baggage claim, where he grabbed both their suitcases while she waited on a nearby bench.

"Hey, Eddie, we have to take a shuttle to the car rental place," he said.

Eddie groaned, but got up, and followed him to the shuttle pickup. Before she knew it, they were sitting down, and being driven through the palm-lined roads of Los Angeles, which Eddie was too tired to take note of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know the plane part might not have been as long as some of you wanted, but don't worry! More fluff is to come! Please remember to comment so I can see how I'm doing on this story.


	4. Los Angeles Cheesecake is Not a Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a little research on what the bulk of New Yorkers think of Los Angeles, and what I learned was pretty entertaining, so I put a lot of that into this chapter. Enjoy! :)

In the fifteen minutes it took to get from the airport to the hotel, Jamie decided that he liked New York a  _lot_  better than Los Angeles. It was just so summery and beach-y and bright. Then again, what was he supposed to expect? It never snowed here, so obviously these people didn't feel the need to have their city look like anything more than an urbanized strip of sand.

Taking a second to glance over at Eddie, who was, of course, sleeping, he couldn't help but wonder if his family had been right about this being a bad idea. But of course, he had told his family he didn't care what the department thought. They were words spoken in a moment of defiance, but still, he was glad to spend this time with one of his closest friends.

That had always been his problem. He thought things over too much. Eddie, she just said whatever popped into her head, and that was one of his favorite things about her. She would always tell him the truth, no matter how much it might hurt.

Jamie's thoughts were interrupted by a groggy voice. "We there yet?" Eddie croaked.

"Just about. Another mile and a half."

"Well, you can take the car and do whatever you want once we get there. I'm gonna sleep."

"Okay."

When they reached the hotel, Jamie unloaded their luggage, leaving it with Eddie in the lobby, and went to park the car. When he reentered, Eddie was waiting for him by the service desk. They checked into their rooms and took the elevator up. When they reached their floor, Eddie took her suitcase and entered her room without a word, came back out only to stick the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob, and left Jamie standing awkwardly in the hallway.

He entered his own room, which was next door to Eddie's, and set his backpack and suitcase on the floor. He wasn't tired at all, as he had slept well the night before, as well as on the plane. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and took it out of airplane mode. His lockscreen filled with at least one text from every Reagan that used texting as their primary communication method, and a missed call and voicemail from all the others.

Jamie read their messages and listened to the voicemails, which were all variations on a theme, asking him how the plane ride went, and some asking if he had asked out Eddie yet. He took a few moments to politely respond to all of them saying, yes, the plane ride went well, and no, he had not asked out Eddie.

Sitting down on the bed, Jamie considered his options. He could sit around for the rest of the day and watch TV, or drive aimlessly around Los Angeles. He chose the second option, grabbed the rental car keys, room key, and his wallet, and set out.

* * *

When Eddie woke up, she felt refreshed, to say the least. Glancing over at the digital clock on her bedside table, the first thing she realized was that it was 5:30 pm. The second thing she noticed was that she had missed lunch, and was starving. Groaning, she got out of bed and knocked on the door to Jamie's hotel room. He didn't answer, so she knocked again. Still no response, which she thought was weird, so she went back into her room to send him a text.

_E: Where are you?_

After a few moments, he responded.

_J: In this restaurant somewhere. Maybe an hour away?_

_E: Wow. Helpful. I'm hungry and you have the car. Do the math._

Eddie could almost hear his exasperation bleeding through the screen of her phone.

J:  _You're from NY. Walk somewhere._

_E: Fine._

A few seconds later, she sent him another text.

_E: This city really is an over-annexed beach shop._

_J: And you were the first to notice this?_  Jamie replied.

_E: Fair point. See you._

_J: Bye._

Eddie walked into the bathroom to fix her makeup, which was in a rather terrible state after fourteen-plus hours. She fixed her hair, grabbed her purse, and set out in search of a decent restaurant. After walking around for what seemed like an eternity, she settled on a small pizza place. Of course, the pizza wasn't as good as New York pizza, but Eddie was hungry, and desperate times call for eating second-rate west coast food.

Once she payed, she headed back to the hotel, and texted Jamie to ask him how close he was, and he responded saying he was about ten minutes away from the hotel, so she waited up for him in the lobby.

When he walked in, the first thing Eddie noticed was that he was carrying a restaurant takeout bag. "What's that?" she asked. "Because if it's more of this crappy LA food, I want no part of it."

"So it wasn't just me? The food back home actually is better?"

"Trust me, it's not just you. But seriously, what's in there?" Eddie was curious about the takeout bag.

"Don't laugh at me," Jamie began, "but I got some Los Angeles-made New York Cheesecake.

"You're kidding, right? That's just messed up."

"I agree. It was so messed up that I just had to get some to see just how much better we can make it back at home."

"Mind if I join you in eating that inferior cheesecake?"

Jamie smiled. "Sure."

So the pair headed up to Jamie's hotel room. When they got there, Jamie perched on the edge of the bed and Eddie flopped down into the chair. Jamie pulled out a boxed slice of cheesecake and a fork and handed it to Eddie, before taking a second slice and fork for himself.

Eddie took a sizable bite before crinkling her nose. "This is  _not_  the same."

Jamie had a similar expression. "They really shouldn't be allowed to call this New York Cheesecake."

"I'm sure you could sue them for that, Mr. Harvard Law Degree," Eddie said with a cheeky smile.

"Hey!" Jamie said, putting his hand over his heart, feigning offense.

Eddie snorted with laughter, and before Jamie knew it, he was laughing just as hard. When he finally managed to stop laughing, he was winded and had a stitch in his side. "Not… Funny…" he choked out.

"Just a little bit, Reagan," Eddie said, setting the score straight.

"Okay, maybe a little bit. Anyway, what are we doing tomorrow?" Jamie asked.

Eddie gave him a wicked grin. "We're going shopping, of course!"

Jamie opened his mouth to protest, but Eddie wasn't finished.

"And I'm taking the car, so unless you want to sit around the hotel watching pay-per-views all day, I recommend you come with me."

Jamie sighed. "Fine. Shopping it is."

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"

Jamie wasn't convinced. "If you say so."

"And we're going to have to get you something to wear to the wedding, remember?" Eddie said.

Jamie glared in her direction. "Well, I'm jet lagged, so I'm going to ask you to get out of my hotel room so I can get some sleep."

"That was a low blow, Reagan," Eddie said as she got up out of the chair and headed toward the door.

Jamie's eyes followed her as she dropped the barely-touched Los Angeles Cheesecake into the trash can and made her exit.

"Goodnight," he called after her, almost an afterthought.

"'Night," he heard her say from the other side of the door.


	5. The Shopping Trip of Doom

Jamie was awake for a full two seconds before he realized that Eddie was going to make him go shopping with her. He groaned in exasperation before dragging himself out of bed and getting dressed. Just as he finished that task, he heard a knock on his hotel room door accompanied by Eddie's chipper voice. "You up, Reagan?"

Jamie sighed. "Yeah." He opened the door to reveal Eddie, who was grinning widely. "I know you're going shopping, but we're getting breakfast first," he officiated.

Eddie rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. Would you really expect me to skip a meal?"

Eddie's occasional childishness always lightened Jamie's mood, so he was feeling a bit more optimistic about his unavoidable shopping sentence by the time they reached the buffet of breakfast foods neatly displayed in a room just off the lobby.

While Eddie piled her plate high with every type of food, Jamie took a slightly more conservative approach, taking one portion of each thing he wanted.

The pair found a table to sit at, where Eddie started devouring her food immediately. Taking in the spectacle he was all too used to, Jamie took a measured bite of his eggs.

On account of Jamie having far less food than Eddie, while eating much slower, they both finished eating about the same time. Their conversation had been a bit sparse, (mostly due to Eddie's eating) so she spoke, it almost sounded odd to her own ears.

"Let's head back up to our rooms to finish getting ready, and meet back here in ten minutes, okay?"

Jamie agreed, and they parted ways.

* * *

_T_ _welve_ _minutes later…_

"I'm driving," Jamie announced as he stepped back into the lobby, where Eddie had been waiting for the last three and a half minutes.

"No way!" Eddie said indignantly. "You got your chance yesterday. Besides, whose shopping trip is this? Yours or mine?"

"Fine," Jamie relented, handing over the rental car keys.

As they walked out to the parking lot, Eddie took the last word of their conversation. "And by the way,

Reagan, it took you twelve minutes to get back downstairs."

Jamie chuckled quietly, more than used to Eddie's jabs at his punctuality.

As soon as he sat down into the passenger seat, Eddie thrust her phone at him. Taking the phone, Jamie asked, "So where are we going, exactly?"

Turning the key, Eddie raised her eyebrows. "I thought you didn't want to go shopping."

Jamie let out an exasperated breath. "I just want to know where we're going. You don't have to  _like_  where you're going to want to know where that is. Like, for instance, if you're being kidnapped. In that situation, it's  _very_  helpful to know where you are."

A second passed, and Eddie couldn't contain herself any longer. She broke into laughter, reaching across the center console to slap Jamie's knee. "I was kidding! It is so much fun to get you wound up."

Jamie felt his face heat up ever so slightly, which he was sure was as a result of being duped by Eddie, but he decided to turn the other cheek and ignore her remark. "What's the name of the place?" he asked, rephrasing his prior question.

"Just give it here," Eddie said, grabbing the phone back from him and quickly typing the name of their destination into the search bar of her navigation app, and flippantly handing it back to Jamie. As she finally pulled out of their parking space, Jamie took note that it was a half-hour drive to some mall.

After a few minutes of no conversation except for navigational information, they had reached the highway, and Eddie spoke up. "Do you actually feel like I'm kidnapping you?" she asked, still a little amused by Jamie's analogy.

Jamie smiled slightly. "Nah, not really. Shopping wasn't my first choice for how to spend the day, but you were right. There's really not too many other options."

"Good choice."

And with that, they lapsed into a comfortable silence, which was broken by occasional turnoff directions and random conversation that went on and off until Eddie pulled the car into the mall parking lot.

Jamie followed Eddie's enthusiastic footsteps into the mall, where he was immediately assaulted with the feel of air conditioning and the constant buzz of people. Before he even had a chance to comprehend his surroundings, Eddie grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him into a store.

"Um, here's your phone," Jamie said, just then noticing that he was still holding it.

"Thanks, lambchop, Eddie said with a smile, taking the phone. When Jamie stayed standing at the entrance, Eddie gave him a look. "Well, aren't you coming? I need a fashion consultant."

"What?" Jamie realized that perhaps he was going to get more than he bargained for on this shopping trip.

Eddie sighed. "This is why when women go shopping, they usually take some friends along. So they can get each other's honest opinions about the clothes they get. You're my partner, Jamie. It won't won't be weird, I promise. Just tell me what you think when I try stuff on."

"Okay," Jamie said, accepting that their really wasn't any other choice.

"Great."

Jamie followed Eddie around as she went through rack after rack of clothes, checking sleeve lengths and such, and when she couldn't hold any more hangers, she handed them to Jamie, who was a little unprepared for the sheer weight of all those garments.

Eddie caught on to his discomfort, and reassured him. "Don't worry. I'm just about done." She handed him two more items and headed in the direction of the dressing rooms.

"Here you go," Jamie said, making to hand all of Eddie's clothes back to her.

"Not so fast," she said with a slight laugh. "I can only take eight of those in with me at a time.

Jamie groaned. "Are they  _trying_  to make my life more difficult?"

Eddie smiled sympathetically. "Probably." She pulled some of the hangers from Jamie's arms and headed into the dressing room.

Jamie winced at the sight of the angry red indentations on his arms from the hangers Eddie had removed.

After a minute or two, Eddie reemerged, sporting a casual outfit that Jamie thought looked good on her.

"Thoughts?" she asked.

Jamie shrugged. "I like it."

"Oh, come on. You're just being nice."

Jamie was a little surprised by Eddie's response. "No, I'm serious. It looks good."

Eddie's face broke into a small smile. "If you say so."

Jamie smiled in return, and she headed back into the dressing room. She emerged wearing a loudly printed dress that in Jamie's opinion looked as if it was trying to drown her. He gave an awkward shrug, not sure how to tell her it looked terrible.

"That bad?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jamie replied with a hint of remorse.

"Hey, don't feel bad about it. I like people who aren't afraid to tell me the truth."

So it went, Eddie trying on clothes, Jamie giving his opinion, until Eddie had narrowed down her selections to the ones she wanted to buy.

After checking out, Jamie headed toward the exit to the parking lot. The ordeal hadn't been as bad as he had thought, but he was ready to be done with the mall. "Alright, then. Let's go."

"Are you serious, Reagan?" Eddie asked, mouth agape. "That was only one store!"

The look of horror on Jamie's face as he turned back around caused Eddie to nearly double over in laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please remember to comment to let me know what you liked and didn't. It really helps my writing. :D


	6. The Promise of Jamie's Continued Torture

When Eddie awoke, she was still relishing her and Jamie's shopping trip from the previous day. It meant a lot to her that he was willing to be honest to her about her clothes. The whole idea of shopping for fun used to disgust her, but she had been making an effort over the last few months to spend more time on her personal well-being, a concept that had been beaten out of her by the NYPD. So when this trip came up, she had made a promise to herself to spend some time not trying to be everyone else's hero, and buy herself some new clothes.

Jamie had pretended to hate the mall the entire time they were there, but Eddie knew he didn't mind it quite as much as he let on. She thought it was actually a bit cute how hard Jamie tried to be like his older brother Danny; gruff and dauntless, despite actually being a huge softy. Eddie smiled to herself, and just as she was about to sink back into her hotel bed's pillows, her phone buzzed, alerting her of a call.

"If that's Jamie," Eddie muttered, "I take back any compliments I may or may not have just thought about him in the last thirty seconds." But when she checked the caller ID, it bore worse news than being aroused by her hotel room neighbor: it was Mrs. Bradley. She took a few seconds to compose herself before picking up the phone and answering in the most positive voice she could muster for having just woken up.

"Good morning!" Eddie exclaimed, holding back a yawn.

Mrs. Bradley, however, sounded as if she had been awake for hours. "Why, hello, darling! I didn't wake you, did I?" Without waiting for a response, she barreled on. "How would you and What's-His-Name like to come over to our place for the day? Cara will be there!"

Eddie cringed, not only at the disrespect to Jamie, but at the prospect of spending an entire day being mothered by Mrs. Bradley. The second the woman heard about her the state of her home life growing up, she had dragged Eddie, kicking and screaming, under her wing."That would be great. I can't wait to seeing Cara, and I'm sure  _Jamie_  is looking forward to meeting her."

"And, I have a little surprise for you and your boyfriend when you get here!" Mrs. Bradley sing-songed.

"He's not my―" Eddie interjected, but Mrs. Bradley continued on to a different subject without taking notice.

"Oh, right, and Cara wants to take you two to get something to wear to the wedding. Even though you're not in it, she still wants you to look fabulous!"

Eddie acquiesced, not willing to stand up against the verbal steamroller she was currently being threatened by. "Sounds awesome."

"Alright then, honey! We'll see you soon!"

Eddie ended the call without saying goodbye, and dragged herself out of bed with a groan. She quickly got dressed before heading into the hallway to knock on Jamie's door.

"You up?"

"Barely."

Eddie laughed ruefully. "Well, you finally get to meet Cara and Company today. Her mom called me a little bit ago."

"Is that regret I hear?" Jamie inquired from the other side of his door.

"Let's put it this way: Cara's mom is a piece of work. Like, don't even try to correct her on anything." Eddie sighed. "And she thinks you're my boyfriend."

"Great. Sounds like fun." Jamie sounded as if he would rather be a hostage negotiator at the moment than meet Mrs. Bradley, and honestly, Eddie couldn't blame him.

"So, um, why don't you get ready and we can head out there after breakfast," Eddie said, ready to distract herself from this disaster-in-waiting with food.

"That's the first good idea I've heard so far today," Jamie said tiredly.

* * *

When Eddie and Jamie met up in the lobby, after finishing breakfast, the latter was taken aback by Eddie's outfit. It was a floral sundress she had picked out the day before, something he would have never imagined her wearing, but it suited her figure perfectly.

"Um, Reagan?" Eddie asked a little uncertainly, not exactly sure why Jamie was staring dazedly in her direction.

Jamie shook his head quickly. "Sorry. Let's go."

Eddie tossed him the car keys, but his dulled reflexes missed them, and they smacked him in the face, nearly taking out an eye, before falling to the floor.

"Sorry," Eddie apologized awkwardly.

Jamie smiled self-deprecatingly. "I guess that means I get to drive."

"As long as your depth perception's okay," Eddie said, only half joking.

"I'll live," Jamie said as he bent down to pick up the key ring. And with that, Eddie and Jamie exited the hotel into the parking lot.

Settling into the driver's seat, Jamie glanced over at his partner, who was currently punching the Bradleys' address into her phone. He started the car, pulling it out of the parking space, heading toward the exit. After taking a few directions from Eddie, they were on the freeway, and heading toward Mr. and Mrs. Bradley's house.

After a few minutes of silence, Jamie finally spoke. "That dress looks amazing on you," he blurted out, not really sure why he had just said it.

Eddie's head whipped to face him. "What? Since when do you say stuff like that to me?"

Jamie flushed slightly. "I don't know. But it's true."

Eddie smiled slightly, deciding to overlook the blatant awkwardness of situation and accept the compliment. "Okay."

They lapsed back into silence for a while, which was broken by Eddie this time. "I know I already asked you this, but you never gave me a real answer."

Jamie emitted a 'Hm,' signaling for Eddie to continue.

"What  _did_  your family think of you coming here with me? I know what they're like."

Jamie slowly inhaled and exhaled before answering. "All they did was tell me what I already know: how it's going to look to the department. Basically just beat the thing to death."

Eddie sighed remorsefully, putting her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry Jamie. I knew this was going to look bad. But what did I do? I invited you anyway." Her voice took on a harder tone. "That's what gets me into trouble. I never think. I just  _do_. And it always comes back to bite me."

Jamie was shocked. Of course Eddie made some rash calls he would never even consider, but it was in her nature. He was always the cautious one. "Hey, hey, Eddie. Listen to me.  _It's fine_. I  _wanted_ to come, okay? And I really don't care what it looks like."

Eddie looked up to face him, a small smile on her face. "Thanks."

Jamie mirrored her smile. "Not a problem, Janko."

They both knew the moment was over, but Eddie cringed when she had to tell Jamie when he needed to turn off. "This next exit," she said through gritted teeth.

"Okay," Jamie said, sounding equally regretful.

He took the exit, which brought them out just a few short miles away from their destination. Three turns later, they ended up in a pleasant little cul-de-sac, where Mr. and Mrs. Bradley lived. Jamie parked the car along the side of the road, and they both headed towards the front door of the house. Eddie could have sworn Mrs. Bradley was waiting right behind the door for them, because the second she raised her finger with the intent to ring the doorbell, the door was yanked open from the inside to reveal Mrs. Bradley's grinning face.

"Why, hello there, Eddie! It is so good to see you!" she said, pulling Eddie into a bone-crushing hug. Eddie mouthed a silent plea of "Help me" to Jamie, who was standing off to the side of this scene. He was, however, powerless, so instead gave her an awkward smile. She glared in return. When Mrs. Bradley finally finished suffocating Eddie, she led them inside, barely taking a second glance at Jamie, which he honestly didn't mind all that much much.

Once inside the house, Mrs. Bradley finally turned her attentions to Jamie, who cringed internally at the thought of what he might be subjected to. "I trust you're treating Eddie well, yes?" Her question was accentuated by an accusatory stare.

"Yes, ma'am," Jamie replied, feeling it was an appropriate time to break out the formalities, and took Eddie's advice not to contradict her on the count of their supposed relationship.

Luckily for Jamie, just as Mrs. Bradley opened her mouth to continue, the doorbell was heard, and the latter rushed to open the door, revealing Cara and who Jamie assumed was her fiance. Once Mrs. Bradley finished smothering them, she led them to where Jamie and Eddie were standing to introduce them.

"Nick, darling," she said, referring to the man standing next to Cara, "this is Eddie, she grew up with Cara when we lived in New York, and this is, um..." she glanced over at Jamie for a supplication.

"Jamie," he said, trying not to be offended by the fact that Mrs. Bradley didn't even know his name. He held out his hand to Nick, who politely shook it. He thought Mrs. Bradley was going to introduce him to Cara, but she had already moved on to the next order of business.

"Today, we're going to be getting Eddie and, ah, Jamie, things to wear to the wedding, (Jamie groaned internally at this. Shopping with Eddie was tolerable, but the idea of walking through store after store with the Bradley matriarch nearly made him want to book the next plane back to New York.) and remember the  _surprise_  I said I had for you?" she barreled on, looking at Eddie, who nodded her head apprehensively. Mrs. Bradley looked ready to explode from excitement. "I got tickets for us all to go to Disneyland tomorrow!"

Eddie and Jamie exchanged a look. It was going to be an adventurous few days, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you have it! Mrs. Bradley is sure going to make Eddie and Jamie's lives… interesting. The next chapter is going to be Nick, Cara, Mrs. Bradley, Eddie and Jamie shopping, and the one after that will be Disneyland!
> 
> Jamie: *bangs head against wall*
> 
> Me: Aw, it won't be that bad! You get to see Eddie in tons of different formal dresses until Mrs. Bradley sees her in one she approves of!
> 
> Eddie: I'm standing right here, you know.
> 
> Jamie: *sigh* I'm starting to think my family had a point when they told me this was a bad idea.
> 
> Me: Yeah, probably. But don't you worry. I really care about you guys. It'll all work out in the end.
> 
> Eddie: Funny way of showing it.
> 
> Me: Mwahahahaha. Writer's priveleges.


	7. That One Time Shopping Was Bearable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you're doing well, and if you're not, then I hope seeing that there was a new chapter of this story up made it at least a little bit better. :D So, in this chapter: More shopping! But with Mrs. Bradley! Also: I posted chapter six and then realized Mr. Bradley wasn't in it. Don't worry, he's not dead. I'll be taking care of that very shortly.

Jamie was sitting in the back of Mrs. Bradley's minivan, wanting very badly to just hit his head against the window. He thought this trip would just be Eddie and him seeing the sights in LA, and then going to the wedding on Friday, not shopping, shopping, and more shopping, which was bad enough when it was just Eddie, but the horror of having to do it with Mrs. Bradley―Jamie didn't think he could take much more of this vacation.

Mentally reprimanding himself for being so pessimistic, he decided that Disneyland might at least be tolerable. After all, it was a big park, and five people could have very conflicting interests on what to see…

"Hey, Mrs. Bradley?" Eddie called out from beside him.

The vehicle's driver glanced toward the back in the mirror. "How many times have I told you? Call me Charlene!"

Jamie glanced over at Eddie, who slowly breathed in and out to calm herself. Mrs. Bradley had that effect on people. "Okay,  _Charlene_ , I was wondering where Mr.―I mean, John is." Eddie paused for a moment, realizing how impolite that sounded, before quickly adding, "Because wherever he is, he's missing out on a lot of fun."

Mrs. Bradley― _Charlene_ ―smiled widely, apparently oblivious to Eddie's quick save. "Oh, darling, I'm sure he'd be back in a heartbeat if he heard you say that. He's off golfing somewhere with some friends of his. They'll be back late tomorrow evening."

Just as Jamie was about to indulge himself in another round of shopping-induced self-pity, Nick, who was sitting directly in front of Eddie in the minivan's center section, turned to face him. "So, how are you enjoying your time in California, Jamie?" he asked, trying to start up a conversation.

Jamie smiled slightly, glad that at least one person in this vehicle was willing to acknowledge his presence. "It's been pretty good." He leaned in closer to Nick and lowered his voice in an attempt to keep the vehicle's driver from hearing the end of his statement. "Although, I've learned a bit more about women's clothing stores than I ever wanted to."

"I heard that!" an indignant Eddie said from Jamie's side. Nick and Cara laughed good-naturedly.

Jamie looked back at Eddie with a smile. "You took me to like  _seven different stores._  What did you expect me to say?"

Eddie rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the arm, a smile on her face all the while. "You are a piece of work, Reagan."

Charlene sighed girlishly from the front seat. "Ah, young love."

"We're not―" they both said involuntarily, but gave up halfway through the phrase. The partners awkwardly situated themselves back into their seats and each stared out their respective windows. Jamie thought he heard a quiet "Could've fooled me" from Nick's seat, which annoyed him in a way he couldn't really describe.

He really shouldn't have expected any different, as Eddie had told him what Cara's family was like. He wasn't sure why it being assumed that he and Eddie were an item was so uncomfortable; it was an easy mistake to make. They were very close friends, which their partnership required, but there was a very distinct line that neither of them wanted to cross.

Just as Jamie reached this conclusion, Charlene pulled into the parking lot of what he could only describe as a very fancy formalwear store. The minivan's four passengers were quickly herded into the store, where they were met by a smiling attendant.

"Hello, everyone. What will you be looking for today?" she asked cheerfully.

Charlene immediately launched into an explanation for their visit. "Nick and Cara here are getting married this Friday, but don't worry! They already have things to wear. Now, Eddie and Jerry here, (four-fifths of the party cringed) are visiting from New York, and will be needing something proper to wear." The attendant looked ready to say something, but Charlene barreled on. "They're not  _in_  the wedding, so color won't be an issue. Red would look so good on Eddie, but I don't know if they want to do matching colors or not."

The attendant smiled widely, but her discomfort was evident. "So, which of you are, ah..." she drifted off, not sure who Eddie and "Jerry" were.

Eddie smiled, rather uncomfortable herself, and stepped forward. "That would be me and Jamie." Jamie quickly made his way from lingering at the entrance to standing next to Eddie, suppressing a grimace. The attendant smiled. "This way, please." Jamie thought the attendant was only talking to him and Eddie, but Charlene followed as well, Nick and Cara following suit. The party was led deeper into the store, past aisles of dresses, suits, fabric, and many other things Jamie didn't even know the name of. He just knew they looked expensive.

"Tori!" the attendant called down one of the aisles to a second store employee, who came rushing toward them. "Here. You take this fine gentleman and get him acquainted with a nice suit, and I'll see what I can do with this darling here," she said, referring to Jamie and Eddie.

"This way, sir," said Tori, who gestured across the store, and began walking in that direction. Jamie glanced at Eddie, who shrugged as if to say,  _I told you Charlene was crazy_.

Not wanting to face the horror of suit shopping alone, Jamie made the split-second decision to call out to Nick. "Hey, Nick. Come with me."

"Okay." Nick smiled good-naturedly, something Jamie realized he did a lot, and they set off after Tori.

* * *

"So, what do you do for a living?" Jamie was doing his best to make conversation with Nick amidst having his suit tailored.

"I work in the LAPD crime lab," responded Nick, who was sitting comfortably in a chair, watching as Tori poked pins here and there into Jamie's pant legs.

Jamie raised his eyebrows, a little taken aback. "Wow. Makes my beat cop job look pretty boring."

Nick chuckled. "I'm not sure if you knew this, but Cara is a detective with the LAPD. When I first met her, she was still an officer, and she said the same thing."

Jamie smiled. "Eddie didn't tell me that. But seriously, you lab workers make all of us on patrol look like animals."

"Hardly. You do all the real work. We're just a tool in your toolbox."

"Agree to disagree, then." Jamie found Nick very enjoyable to be around. He was easygoing, and talking to him wasn't as awkward as he would've expected for someone he had just met. Though Jamie didn't know much about Cara either, he figured they were a good match.

His train of thought was interrupted by Tori, who exclaimed, "All finished!"

Jamie gave her a serious look. "Not a moment to soon, either. At least all of the pins stayed out of my skin."

Tori shook her head, but the smile on her face was hard to miss. "Men. Couldn't appreciate the creative process if they tried."

Jamie changed out of the suit and accompanied Nick and Tori to the part of the store where Eddie was trying on different dresses, and beginning to lose patience. Jamie could see how it had been going for the last half hour: Eddie's attendant picking a dress, Eddie trying it on, Charlene vetoing it. The former was currently wearing a light blue dress covered in iridescent gemstones.

"Oh, darling," Charlene exclaimed dramatically, "it clashes so horribly with your hair!"

Eddie glanced over at Jamie, looking ready to throw Charlene out a window. Her attendant was already standing a few feet away with another dress, this one lace-covered and maroon. Eddie snatched it out of her hands and headed toward the dressing room, where Jamie intercepted her..

"How's it going?" he said, smiling sympathetically.

Eddie's face hardened. "This is the  _seventeenth_  dress I'm going to have to try on. I love Cara to death, but her mother is  _the worst_."

Suddenly, Jamie was struck with an idea. "Why don't you send Charlene with your attendant to pick out a dress, and you can take a break from trying them on."

Eddie looked ready to cry in relief, impulsively pulling Jamie into a hug. "You are a genius, Reagan."

"No problem," Jamie said, awkwardly returning her embrace. His voice took on a less serious note. "Now you know how I felt yesterday."

Eddie pulled back, fixing him with a glare. "Don't make me take that back."

Jamie just smiled in response.

* * *

Jamie, Eddie, Cara, and Nick were sitting in a semicircle, swapping stories about the job, and Charlene had yet to find a dress for Eddie she approved of.

"How many people do you get that expect you to be a CSI superfan once they find out where you work?" Eddie asked Nick.

He gave her an unamused look. "I have heard that so many times it's almost become funny again."

The rest of the group laughed at this, and they continued talking for a few minutes before Charlene came walking victoriously towards them, wielding a dress that apparently met her standards. Jamie didn't get a good look at it, a combination of his vantage point and interest level, but did see that it was red. Remembering that red was the color she had originally said would look best on Eddie, he wondered why she hadn't just asked the attendant for a dress of that color to begin with.

Taking the dress, Eddie disappeared into the dressing room. When she reappeared, Jamie's strictly professional view of Eddie was momentarily shattered. It had a respectable length and cut, but that just made Jamie love it more. She didn't need to wear a slutty dress to look beautiful.

Eddie uncomfortably tugged at the three-quarter sleeves. "So, Charlene, what do you think?"

For once, the Bradley matriarch seemed at a loss for words, although she quickly regained them. "It is absolutely perfect!"

"I totally agree. You look awesome," Cara chimed in. Nick gave Eddie a double thumbs-up. Jamie brought himself back down to earth in time to add, "Looks great," although he couldn't be sure he sounded quite as casual as he normally did.

Eddie finally gave a small smile. "Alright." Her smile disappeared. "But seriously, I need food. Let's hit up Taco Bell when we leave." And with that, she headed back into the dressing room to change back into her sundress, leaving a still-stunned Jamie in her wake.  _Yeah, Taco Bell sounds good._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo-hoo! Longest chapter so far by a couple of words. Please remember to leave me a review! I love hearing what you guys think of what I'm doing with this story, even if it's constructive. Also, super random, but yes, Nick is named Nick because of Nick Stokes from CSI, and I had typed "LVPD" twice in this chapter before realizing it was supposed to be "LAPD". Just my weird mind at work. Also, this is the last of the chapters I have already written. When I get new ones finished, they will be posted here as well as on FanFiction. (Username: star.crossed.kitty.cat)


	8. Disneyland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been to Disneyland. Once. When I was seven. Yes, I know this chapter probably won't have the most accurate description of it, so there's really no need to leave a review telling me everything I messed up. I did do some research, so it won't we horrible, (hopefully) but just keep in mind that it's been a while. Thank you.
> 
> Also: CBS did this thing on their website where they released the synopsis of the season premieres of all the shows starting back up at the end of September, and on the Blue Bloods one, they had that Eddie and Jamie are going undercover as a couple! *Psychotic fangirl scream*
> 
> *Self-conscious cough* Anyway. On to the story.

"Iron Man or Captain America?" Jamie's inquiring voice cut through the fog of Eddie's mind.

She rolled her eyes. "Is that even a question? Iron Man all the way."

Jamie's eyebrows arched, and he gave her a serious look. "I beg to differ."

Eddie rolled her eyes again. "Of course you do, Boy Scout." Despite the drive from Los Angeles to Disneyland being only an hour, the passengers of Charlene's minivan were quickly getting bored.

"Tony has some  _serious_  ego problems, though," Jamie continued on.

Eddie fixed him with a glare. "Well, he is only the smartest guy in the world. And "Captain Spangly" sure thinks he's God's gift to humanity, too."

Jamie wasn't convinced. "Yeah, but Captain America is like, the original. He's the guy everyone would want to save them."

"More like he takes the credit for all the other Avengers' hard work. Tony  _created_ his superhero. Steve got his from a science fair experiment gone wrong."

The pair bickered on in this fashion for a few minutes before Cara interjected. "Have you guys ever been told that you fight like twelve-year-olds?" she asked, a bit exasperated.

There was a slightly awkward pause before Jamie answered. "We actually have been told that before."

Cara chuckled. "No kidding?"

"Seriously," Eddie said with a nod. "I believe Danny's exact words were, "Only married couples get to bicker like twelve-year-olds.""

It took a moment for Eddie to be properly embarrassed by what she had said. Nick and Cara were both fixing her with very significant looks. Jamie, however, was staring very pointedly out his window, and was he  _blushing_? Eddie wasn't quite sure, but from her vantage point a slight pink tinge appeared to be adorning his neck and ears. Under regular circumstances, Eddie probably would have taken this as a chance to make fun of him, but decided to let it slide.

After all, you can't make fun of someone when you already have the last word. Right?

* * *

_Two hours later…_

Eddie was sick of Disneyland.  _Sick_  sick. This was her first time going, but she had about had enough. Charlene was being a first-class pain, Nick and Cara were being all excluding and couple-y, she was fairly sure Jamie was ignoring her, and the lethal combination of high-velocity rides and fried food was starting to disagree with her.

She stopped for a moment to take a look at one of the park map signs. Quickly identifying her current location, Eddie mentally calculated how long it would take for her to get to the exit, steal Charlene's car, make it to the airport, and be on a flight back to New York.

She was  _that_  sick of Disneyland.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around to rejoin the group. When she didn't see them at first, she made a full circle before realizing that they were nowhere to be found.

"Great. Just great," Eddie muttered under her breath. She pulled out her phone to shoot Cara a text and find out where they were, and where they should meet up again. When she hit "send" on her phone's screen, a small red exclamation point appeared next to it, signifying that there was no service and the text hadn't been sent. Eddie seethed internally. Forcefully shoving the phone back into her purse, she found a bench to sit on and wallow in the agony of her current situation.

 _An amusement park of this size and I can't get any service. I have managed to lose my only way out of here, and I can't even tell them where I am. I turned around for what, five seconds?_  Resting her head in her hands, she tried to think of a logical plan of action.

_Okay, so chances are they aren't going to realize where they lost me, and besides, I wasn't exactly enjoying myself. So I'm going to go off and do my own thing, text them again when I get some service, and go on from there._

She picked herself off the bench with a dignity only she could manage, picked a random direction, and headed off in it.

* * *

_Around that same time…_

Jamie had begun to resent his and Eddie's decision to go with Nick and the Bradley women to Disneyland. Internally, he wanted to go off and tour the park with just Eddie, but wasn't about to say anything of that sort aloud, especially after Eddie's ill-timed reference to one of Danny's jabs at the pair of them while they were on the road.

He also noticed when Eddie dropped away from the group to look at on of the maps of the park, and almost called attention to it, when a plan began to form in his head.

"Hey, guys," he said to Nick, Cara, and Charlene as they walked along. "Would you mind if I walked around by myself for a little bit? When I'm done I can text you and we can meet back up somewhere.:

"That's fine by me," Cara said, and her mother and fiancé agreed.

With a nod of thanks, Jamie diverged from the group to find Eddie.

* * *

As Eddie walked along purposefully, she felt a buzzing in her pocket.  _They finally realized I was gone_ , she thought spitefully as she pulled it out, although a little relieved that the  _entire_  park wasn't a cellular dead zone. She was mildly surprised to see that the text was from Jamie, and even more surprised by its contents.

_I went solo too. Want to meet up somewhere and walk around?_

_Sounds great_ , she quickly typed. She stopped for a moment to take not of her surroundings.  _I'm at the Mad Hatter's. Meet there?_

Jamie responded almost instantaneously.  _Sure. See you in five._

True to his word, Jamie found the shop in a matter of minutes, who managed to make up for his habitual lateness with being sure he had his own map upon arrival to the park.

As it was, Eddie caught sight of Jamie before he caught sight of her, so she called him over to the storefront.

"So, where are we going from here?" Jamie asked, fully prepared for them to set off on an expedition to the complete other side of the park.

She gave him a slightly wicked smile. "What do you mean, Reagan? You can't have a trip to Disneyland without a Mickey hat."

Jamie's eyes widened. "You're serious? We're going in here?"

She just smirked again. "Do I look like I'm joking?" And with that, she grabbed his arm and led him into the haberdashery.

When Eddie walked into the store, she loved it immediately. Alice in Wonderland had always been one of her favorites growing up, not in the least because the story lacked a pathetic damsel-in-distress being saved by a prince. It was about a girl making her own way in a cruel and unforgiving world.  _No wonder I can relate_ , she thought bitterly, but let go of the grudge from her past in favor of enjoying this time with Jamie.

The store was stocked wall-to-wall with every kind of imaginable Disney hat, the majority of which were adorned with Mickey Mouse ears. After a moment of consideration, Eddie grabbed a blue Mickey Mouse hat and plopped it on Jamie's head, startling him slightly.

"What was that for?" Jamie asked jokingly, before grabbing a sequined hat and putting it on Eddie's head.

"Reagan!" Eddie mock-scolded. "And I don't even like sequins."

Jamie had a sly gleam in his eye. "But you're going to buy it anyway."

Eddie played along, not missing a beat. With a wink, she pulled the hat off her head and thrust it at Jamie. "No, you are."

"You are incorrigible, Edit Janko," he said with a laugh. "I walked right into that one, though, didn't I?"

Eddie felt like she was watching from across the room as she stood on her tiptoes to close the height gap between the two of them, and placed a kiss on his cheek. "You walked right into that one, too," she said quietly.

Jamie smiled at her sweetly. "And being the gentleman I am, I'm even going to pay for the hat."

Eddie rolled her eyes. "You never cease to amaze me, Reagan."

* * *

That night, as Eddie lay awake in her hotel room bed, she decided that Disneyland really wasn't all that bad. The next day, Nick and Cara's families would be making preparations for the wedding, so she and Jamie were free to fill the day however they wanted. She remembered that on the plane ride, Jamie had said that he wanted to visit the Reagan Library while they were on their trip.  _That sounds like a good way to spend tomorrow_ , she thought, before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it! Also, I have AO3 now! If you prefer that to FanFiction, you can find me there as fangirlforhire, and this story by the same name.
> 
> This chapter has been killing me. I'm sorry it's not as long as the last few, but I just had to stop stressing and just get it out of me, or I would never be able to move on. The next chapter will be longer and more detailed. And there's going to be more Jamko in it than probably the rest of the story combined. So get excited, folks.
> 
> Please drop me a review to tell me how I'm doing!


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